Stefanos
Stefanos was a Greek Lord Bishop in the Holy Father Church from 1423 to 1449. He was first introduced in Raunch & Righteous as a secondary antagonist. He was later excommunicated from the Congregation and died in an infirmary in his homeland of Sparta. Early Life Much of Stefanos' childhood remains unknown, but one single detail. When he was seven years old, he was deemed too weak to fight in the Spartan army and sent into the nearby mountains to die. Somehow, he found his way to Corinth where he lived from place to place until he got involved in Corinthian gladiatorial games. Adulthood After making a name for himself in Corinth, Stefanos returned to Sparta in an attempt to join the Spartan army. Again, he was rejected, a blow to his pride that caused him to lash out at the Spartan General and nearly kill him. Stefanos is jailed for a short time and this is where he meets his first wife, Gymnopa. Forced Marriage & Bitter Divorce Stefanos was fifteen years Gymnopa's senior when he kidnapped her from the fitness academy and got her pregnant. He asked Gymnopa's father, a Spartan politician, if he could marry her. He father agreed to it, but warned Stefanos not to mistreat her. But Stefanos immediately began to abuse Gymnopa and after two years of marriage, they were separated. Stefanos threatened to kill Gymnopa if she didn't return home with their daughter, Atropos. When Stefanos went looking for his estranged wife, he was greeted by her angry father and a group of Spartan warriors who were ready to attack Stefanos if he made any attempt on Gymnopa's life. Stefanos made the foolish choice of fighting with the warriors and was easily defeated. Stefanos was later thrown out of Sparta. Raunch & Righteous With no where else to go, Stefanos boarded a ship and sailed to Constantinople to find work as a gladiatorial fighter. Instead he found shelter within the chapel of a masked cleric named Jolen-Heli. Jolen took Stefanos in and made him a Lord Bishop. Stefanos then met a noble woman named Rhea, whom he treated kindly only to receive her hand in marriage. Once married, Stefanos and Rhea moved into a new home and they had three children together. Over time, Stefanos drifted further away from home and more time at the chapel of his lord. Rhea was the daughter of scholar and often asked Stefanos to learn how to read. One night Rhea made the mistake of bringing up Stefanos' illiteracy in front of his friends. Stefanos waited until his company went home before he beat Rhea up. The beatings continued until Stefanos and Rhea were strangers living under the same roof. Assault & Excommunication With his marriage failing, Stefanos put all of his energy into the Church he loved. He served Jolen faithfully and, if need be, would die for his lord. But when Jolen got married to Mia Arrabo, Stefanos felt like she was getting in the way of his loyalty to Jolen and wanted her gone. Stefanos turned all of his hatred toward Mia and even slept with Mia's mother Elizabeth to anger her. When Mia was made a Lady Bishop, that was the breaking point for Stefanos. His plan was to kill Mia and blame it on the Christians. Knowing that Jolen was a Janissary Captain in the Turkish army, Stefanos felt this would create more animosity between the two factions since they were on the brink of war anyway. After Mia had some choice words with Stefanos about his behavior, Stefanos savagely attacked her. Mia was eight months pregnant at the time. When Jolen-Heli discovered what Stefanos did to Mia, he told Stefanos to leave the Church. Stefanos felt justified in what he did because he felt that women should never be in authority and that Mia's presence would make Jolen and the rest of the Lord Bishops weak. Even after being dismissed, Stefanos still tried to hurt Mia by hurling a stone at her. For this, Jolen mercilessly attacked Stefanos leaving the former Lord Bishop without the use of his right arm. Retirement & Death Stefanos returned to Sparta and lived out the rest of his days on a small farm. When he could no longer work in the fields, he was moved into a dispensary. One day a young woman used up claiming to be his daughter. Stefanos took her for a Roman spy and tried to kill her. But his daughter Atropos sympathized with him and took care of him when he got sick. Before Stefanos died, he gave Atropos a ivory-handle fighting dagger and told her to continue his fight. He was laid to rest months later at an unmarked grave outside of Sparta. Also See: *Atropos *Raunch & Righteous Category:Bishops of Bastard characters